Cherry Bomb

What It Means To Be A Hero

I gaped at my thermos, on the other side of the borderline. The material it had been made with was fire-resistant...but blunt force shattered the ceramic coating on the straps and snapped the elastic. It came clean off my arm. My salvation lay in the grass, side by side with failure. If I crossed the line to grab it again, It would be an automatic loss.

But if I try to reciprocate one more explosion attack...

My father's face surfaced in my mind. The ring of that damn phone. The phone call that told me an explosion had killed my dad.

I couldn't stop shivering.

~.~

Bakugo

My smile disappeared when I looked down. Asuga's stare looked out of it. I followed the line of her gaze.

Her thermos had fallen into the grass, and out of bounds. When I turned back to her, she looked pale, her eyes wide with panic. Beneath my hand, I felt her heart racing. Her entire body trembled like a wet cat. The fiery, stubborn firework she was just moments before had vanished.

She's terrified.

Tears welled up in her eyes, threatening to spill over. "You win," she whimpered, trembling beneath me. "I surren - "

I covered her mouth with my other hand. "Don't say that damn word! Don't even think it, Asuga!"

She clasped her gloved hands around my wrist. But she wasn't trying to pull it off. She was clinging to me. Her sobs continued underneath my palm. Tears spilled over her cheeks.

Don't do this to me. "We're not done." I spread my fingers apart to uncover her mouth.

"I c-can't d-do this anymore," she whimpered.

"Yes, you can," I insisted.

"I can't. I can't."

"Yes, you can!"

"I'm s-sorry, s-senpai," Asuga sobbed. "I'm so s-sorry."

I stiffened. Dammit. I can't let her crumble in on herself like this. This wasn't just a fight. It had to be a spectacle. A showcase. This fight hasn't gone on for nearly long enough. We haven't finished evacuating the arena. Deku needs more time. So don't quit on me now.

"I don't wanna die," she mumbled into my hand, clenching her eyes shut. "If I keep fighting, I'll end up like - "

" - You think a villain would give you that choice?!"

Her eyes flew open and focused on me.

I grabbed her by her shirt collar and pulled her to a sitting-up position. "You think villains give a damn that you're tired? That you're scared?! NO!!! HESITATION IS DEATH, ASUGA!!!"

She gawked at me, dumbfounded.

"In our line of work, every second counts. Every second you spend catching your breath is a second that your enemy uses against you. The time you waste debating what to do is time a villain will use to kill you and the people you're trying to save!" I yanked her up to a standing position. "ANY step you take could be your last. It doesn't matter how many you have left. A hero doesn't use a single one of them to run away! We march towards our enemy! We face our fears! WE DO NOT RUN FROM DEATH! WE RUN TOWARDS IT SCREAMING! THAT'S WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A HERO!!!"

~.~

Bakugo

Just like everything he said, his words had weight. When I gazed into his burning red eyes, I saw fear. Whether it was for himself, for me, or something else, I wasn't sure. But I knew he was right.